General Motors' new CEO Dan Akerson told GM employees today that the automaker will go into "attack mentality" and made a small attack of his own against the Obama administration's economic policies, noting "I vote Republican."

The comments came during a town hall meeting at GM headquarters in Detroit today, where Akerson and departing CEO Ed Whitacre had a symbolic hand-off. During the discussion, our source says Akerson talked about his education at the London School of Economics, and took a swipe at the Obama administration, saying Washington types could stand some of the training in economics and philosophy that he enjoyed.

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Akerson is no closet Republican; the former head of the Carlyle Group's private equity arm gave $2,300 to Sen. John McCain in 2008, along with $28,500 to the Republican National Committee, which has criticized Obama for spending $50 billion to rescue GM.

He also said GM needed to be in "an attack mentality" that's "more fun than playing defense," which would comport with his other schooling at the U.S. Naval Academy.